Coast Guard suspends search for possible person in the water near Charleston

Apr 1st, 2014 · Comments Off on Coast Guard suspends search for possible person in the water near Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Coast Guard suspended its search for a possible person in the water in the vicinity of the Charleston City Marina Tuesday at approximately 8:20 a.m., pending any new developments.

A search crew from Coast Guard Station Charleston, S.C., and a helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Facility Charleston searched an area four miles by three miles since 2:20 a.m., with no sightings of anyone in distress, nor has anyone been reported missing or overdue to the Coast Guard. A first light search Tuesday morning conducted by the helicopter crew concluded with no sightings.

Assisting Coast Guard crews in the search were crews from local agencies, including Charleston Fire Department, Charleston County Rescue, and the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Charleston command center received a call at approximately 2:45 a.m., from a security guard at the marina who reported hearing a male voice cry, “Help”. Watchstanders issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and launched a Station Charleston rescue crew. A helicopter crew from Air Facility Charleston was also launched to aid in the search.

Station Charleston crewmembers arrived at the search area, located in the Ashley River, at approximately 2:19 a.m. The helicopter aircrew arrived at the scene shortly after 3:30 a.m., and departed the scene after searching for more than two hours. Local agencies arrived on scene at 3:30 a.m.